WBB rebounds to top Villanova in Big East Tournament final
UNCASVILLE-The University of Connecticut’s latest victory on the women’s basketball postseason circuit was a rebound in more ways than one.
UConn (25-5) exacted its revenge against the Villanova Wildcats for its lone blemish on its Big East Conference ledger on Monday, using a one-sided rebounding battle to their advantage en route to a 70-40 victory in the Big East Women’s Basketball Tournament’s championship finale at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Huskies’ victory marks their record-extending 20th Big East Tournament title and their 13th consecutive season with a conference tournament win of any kind (including seven earned in the American Atheltic Conference).
Monday’s meeting situated the top teams in the Big East nearly a full month after Villanova (23-8) ended UConn’s 169-game winning streak against conference competition by a 72-69 final in Hartford. The Wildcats led wire-to-wire in that victory thanks to part to a 12-2 run to open the game.
This time, UConn returned the favor with a 7-0 start earned despite three earlier turnovers en route to a 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. They never looked back afterward, with nearly every Wildcat held in check, forcing Maddy Siegrist to shoulder a wider load than usual. The recently-crowned Big East Player of the Year was forced to shoulder a wider load than usual, putting in nearly half of the Wildcats points (17 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field). Villanova’s remaining roster mustered only 23 more on 9-of-33 shooting (27 percent), including a 4-of-17 non-Siegrist effort in a second period that yielded only eight total points each. The Husky defensive effort was particularly tough on outside threat Lior Garzon, who sank just 1-of-11 from the field after tallying five triples in February’s upset.
Connecticut’s scoring was a diverse effort, with senior Evina Westbrook capping off her Big East endeavors with a team-best 13 points, pacing a 56 percent shooting effort (29-of-52). Aaliyah Edwards had a dozen while Olivia Nelson-Ododa also reached double-figures on a perfect night (4-of-4).
It was the battle of the boards that made the biggest difference, however. Connecticut built a 33-18 halftime lead after allowing only four offensive rebounds over the first 20 minutes, none of which yielded second chance points for the underdog Wildcats. Like their scoring output, the rebounding statsheet became quite crowded. Edwards continued her lively postseason paint parties with a team-best six, five coming off the offensive glass. Nelson-Ododa, Caroline Ducharme, and Dorka Juhasz all hauled down five each behind her.
Villanova failed to earn any second chance opportunities until the fourth quarter, by which point the game was well in-hand. UConn was able to win the game one point shy of its largest lead of the night, despite Paige Bueckers (still on a minutes-ceiling as she continues to work off the
effects of a December knee injury) seeing only eight minutes of game-time and sinking only 1-of-4 from the field. Underclassmen nonetheless picked up the slack, as first-years Ducharme and Azzi Fudd put in nine each on a combined 8-of-11 shooting.
The loss has Villanova still seeking its first Big East title since 2003, which was earned via an upset victory over UConn in Piscataway. A tense week now awaits as they’ll look to enter the 68-team NCAA Tournament bracket through an at-large bubble bid.
As if there was any doubt, UConn becomes the 10th team to officially secure a berth in the 2022 national tournament through victory in the conference-based festivities , joining Texas-Arlington (Sun Belt) as Monday’s clinchers. They’ll have nearly a week to ponder their fate with the bracket reveal coming on Sunday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
